| abstract |
A polymer substrate is plated with a metal, using metallic filler particles in the polymer as anchorage points for a layer of metal formed by an electroless plating operation. The polymer has a filler that includes non-metallic filler particles and metallic filler particles; the non-metallic filler particles contiguous to the polymer surface can be etched away, so as to expose metallic filler particles proximate to the etched surfaces. The exposed metallic filler particles serve as anchorage points for the electroless plate layer. |